DaveMiller's blog

'Shirley Bassey Mixed Up' is a collaborative biography: an illustrated biography of the legendary diva, where the reader helps to 'mix' the illustrations online, using Internet searches.

For some time I've been interested in building stories out of recycled bits of the Internet. Especially live material; the idea of taking material that isn't at all intended to be used that way, and then changing it or using it out of context - I really like this idea. It can be fun and subversive, and you never know what you'll get.

For me this show has been a very enjoyable experience, from the point of view of looking at other people's work, and exchanging ideas. I particularly enjoyed the evening lectures - very stimulating. But also the show has been great for me as an opportunity to show my work, and gather feedback. Actually it's the most intense feedback I've had yet on my Corrugation Street project, it's made me question quite a few aspects I'd not considered, and has given me useful ideas for building into the next version. Here are some comments I've had:

I'm presenting my work at the Takeaway show, and been working on taking Corrugation Street further. This is the latest version, hastily done in time for the show. So far I've worked on:
- improving the code, making it more efficient and sturdy
- adding new episodes

During the first day I had a lot of feedback which is proving useful in helping me work out future directions for the project. This is actually the first chance I've had to collect proper feedback, and it's good feedback as well.

In order to write my own short interactive scripts, I'm currently studying screenwriting. I've come across an excellent book - simply called "Story" by Robert McKee (1999) which deals with the principles of story design. - aimed at "screen and television writers, novelists, playwrights, journalists, anyone with a story to tell".

This struck a chord:

"... the novice plunges ahead, counting soley on experience, thinking that the life he's lived and the films he's seem give him something to say and the way to say it. Experience, however, is overrated. For most writers, the knowledge they gain from reading or study outweighs experience. Self-knowledge is the key - life plus deep reflections on our reactions to life."